Image reading apparatus, image reading control method and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing program

ABSTRACT

Setting conditions related to reading of an image of a document are registered in association with a user according to input by a user. When a user is identified, the priority order is determined so that a setting condition corresponding to the identified user is prioritized over a setting condition not corresponding to the user among the registered setting conditions, and the setting condition information indicating the setting conditions in the determined priority is displayed. The image is read under the setting condition based on the setting condition information selected according to the input by the user of the setting condition information indicating the displayed setting conditions.

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.17/650,145, filed Feb. 7, 2022, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 17/188,678, filed Mar. 1, 2021, which claimspriority to JP Application No. 2020-035536, filed Mar. 3, 2020, thedisclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein intheir entireties.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to an image reading apparatus that readsan image from a document, an image reading control method, and anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program.

2. Related Art

For example, JP-A-2005-102249 discloses an image reading apparatusincluding a reading unit that reads an image from a document. In such animage reading apparatus, a plurality of setting conditions related toreading of an image can be registered by the user. A plurality of icons(setting condition information) indicating the registered settingconditions is displayed in a predetermined display area, and when any ofthe plurality of icons displayed is selected by the user, the image isread based on the setting condition corresponding to the selected icon.

However, in the image reading apparatus described in JP-A-2005-102249,for example, when the number of setting conditions to be registeredincreases due to the setting conditions being registered by a pluralityof users, the setting condition information indicating the settingcondition desired by the user may not be displayed in the predetermineddisplay area. In this case, the setting condition information indicatingthe setting condition desired by the user according to the operation ofthe user have to be selected after displayed in a predetermined displayarea. Therefore, it is desired to improve the convenience of the user toselect any of the registered setting conditions.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an image readingapparatus includes a reading unit that reads an image from a document, acontroller that controls the reading unit, and a display unit thatdisplays information about the image reading by the reading unit,wherein the controller includes a registration unit that registers,according to input by a user, a setting condition related to the imagereading by the reading unit in association with the user, anidentification unit that identifies the user, a determination unit thatdetermines a priority order so that a setting condition corresponding tothe user is prioritized over a setting condition not corresponding tothe user among setting conditions registered by the registration unitwhen the user is identified by the identification unit, a displaycontroller that displays, on the display unit, setting conditioninformation indicating the setting conditions in the priority orderdetermined by the determination unit, and a reading controller thatcauses the reading unit to read an image under a setting condition basedon setting condition information selected according to input by a userof the setting condition information indicating the setting conditionsdisplayed on the display unit.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an image readingcontrol method includes a registration step of registering, according toinput by a user, a setting condition related to reading of an image froma document in association with the user, an identification step ofidentifying a user, a determination step of determining a priority orderso that when a user is identified in the identification step, a settingcondition corresponding to the user is prioritized over a settingcondition not corresponding to the user among setting conditionsregistered in the registration step, a display control step ofdisplaying, on the display unit, setting condition informationindicating the setting conditions in the priority order determined inthe determination step, and a reading control step of causing thereading unit to read an image under a setting condition based on settingcondition information selected according to input by a user of thesetting condition information indicating the setting conditionsdisplayed in the display control step.

According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program causesa computer to execute a method. The method includes a registration stepof registering, according to input by a user, a setting conditionrelated to reading of an image from a document in association with theuser, an identification step of identifying a user, a determination stepof determining a priority order so that when a user is identified in theidentification step, a setting condition corresponding to the user isprioritized over a setting condition not corresponding to the user amongsetting conditions registered in the registration step, a displaycontrol step of displaying, on the display unit, setting conditioninformation indicating the setting conditions in the priority orderdetermined in the determination step, and a reading control step ofcausing the reading unit to read an image under a setting conditionbased on setting condition information selected according to input by auser of the setting condition information indicating the settingconditions displayed in the display control step.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an image reading apparatus according tothe first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side sectional view of an image reading apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of theimage reading apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a user database.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a registration job database.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a registration job control process.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a screen of an image displaydevice.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a screen of the image displaydevice.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a screen of the image displaydevice.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a screen of the image displaydevice.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a screen of the image displaydevice.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing a screen of the image displaydevice.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a screen of the image displaydevice.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing a screen of the image displaydevice.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing a screen of the image displaydevice.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing a screen of the image displaydevice.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram showing a screen of the image displaydevice.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing a screen of the image displaydevice.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment

Hereinafter, the first embodiment of an image reading apparatus will bedescribed with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1 , an imagereading apparatus 11 of the present embodiment includes a main body 12having a substantially trapezoidal shape in side view, and a documentsupport 13 on which a document D to be image-read is placed (set). Astacker 15 is housed in the main body 12 under a discharge port 12B soas to be slidable in the front/rear direction.

The document support 13 has a flat placement face 13A on which aplurality of documents D can be placed by extending diagonally upwardfrom the rear of the main body 12. The document support 13 is providedwith a pair of edge guides 13B that can slide in a width direction Xthat intersects (particularly orthogonally) with a transport direction Yin which the document D is transported. The document D placed on theplacement face 13A is positioned in the width direction X with respectto a feed port 12A by being held between the pair of edge guides 13B.Further, a slide-type auxiliary support portion 13C is provided on theplacement face 13A of the document support 13 so as to be able to movein and out. The document D placed on the placement face 13A ispositioned in the transport direction Y with respect to the feed port12A by coming into contact with the slide-type auxiliary support portion13C. The width direction X is the main scanning direction when the imagereading apparatus 11 reads an image of the document D, and the transportdirection Y is the sub scanning direction.

The document D placed on the document support 13 is fed one by one fromthe feed port 12A opened at the upper part of the main body 12 into themain body 12. The fed document D is transported in the main body 12along a predetermined transport path 29 (see FIG. 2 ), and is dischargedfrom the discharge port 12B opened at the lower front of the main body12 after its image is read in a reading region SA during the transport.

A power button 20 is provided on a front face portion 12C of the mainbody 12. The front face portion 12C of the main body 12 is provided witha display unit 22 such as a liquid crystal panel for displaying apredetermined image in a display area 23. The display unit 22 isconfigured to display information about the image reading apparatus 11.The display unit 22 is provided with an input unit 21, such as a touchpanel, that can detect a user's touch operation. The input unit 21 isconfigured to input necessary information according to a user's touchoperation when giving an instruction to the image reading apparatus 11.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the main body 12 includes a main body portion 18and a cover portion 19 rotatably coupled around a front end portion ofthe main body portion 18. The main body 12 has the transport path 29(transport passage) extending from the feed port 12A to the dischargeport 12B between the main body portion 18 and the cover portion 19.

A transport mechanism 30 that transports the document D is provided inthe main body 12. The transport mechanism 30 includes a feeding unit 30Athat feeds the documents D placed (set) on the document support 13 oneby one while guiding them into the main body 12, a transport unit 31that transports the fed document D along the transport path 29 so thatthe fed document D passes through the reading region SA, and a dischargeunit 32 that discharges the document D after the image is read by thetransport unit 31 during the transport. The transport mechanism 30 hasan automatic document feed function that sequentially transports aplurality of documents D placed on the document support 13 one by onealong the transport path 29 so that they pass through the reading regionSA.

The feeding unit 30A includes one feed roller 33 (pickup roller) facinga feed guide 30B at the upstream end position of the transport path 29in the main body 12. The feeding unit 30A feeds the plurality ofdocuments D placed on the document support 13 one by one from the feedport 12A along the feed guide 30B.

The transport unit 31 includes a pair of feed rollers 34 disposed at aposition downstream of the feed roller 33 in the transport direction Yand a pair of transport rollers 35 disposed at a position upstream ofthe reading region SA in the transport direction Y. The pair of feedrollers 34 is composed of a drive roller 34A and a separation roller 34B(retard roller). The pair of transport rollers 35 is composed of a driveroller 35A and a driven roller 35B.

The discharge unit 32 includes a pair of discharge rollers 36 disposedat a position downstream of the reading region SA in the transportdirection Y. The pair of discharge rollers 36 is composed of a driveroller 36A and a driven roller 36B. The pair of discharge rollers 36,together with the pair of transport rollers 35, is also responsible firtransporting the document D during reading.

In this way, the feed roller 33, the pair of feed rollers 34, the pairof transport rollers 35, and the pair of discharge rollers 36 aredisposed in order from upstream in the transport direction Y, and aredisposed at intervals in the width direction X.

The plurality of rollers 33, 34A of the feed system is rotationallydriven by the power of a feed motor 37, which is the power source forthem. The plurality of documents D placed on the document support 13 isfed by the feed roller 33 from the feed port 12A into the main body 12one by one in order from the lowest document. In this way, the feedingunit 30A (the rollers 33, 34A, and the like) is driven by the feed motor37 as a power source.

Further, the separation roller 34B of the feed system and the driverollers 35A and 36A of the transport system are rotationally driven bythe power of a transport motor 38 which is the power source thereof. Thedocument D fed into the main body 12 by the feed roller 33 istransported to the reading region SA and then discharged from thedischarge port 12B. In this way, the transport unit 31 (the pair oftransport rollers 34, and the like) and the discharge unit 32 (the pairof discharge rollers 36, and the like) are driven by the transport motor38 as a common power source.

Further, the drive rollers 35A and 36A are rotationally driven so as totransport the document D at the same transport speed (reading speed)when the document D is read. The driven rollers 35B and 36B are rotatedby the rotation of the drive rollers 35A and 36A, which are paired withthe driven rollers 35B and 36B, respectively.

Further, an encoder 44 (for example, a rotary encoder) capable ofdetecting the rotation of one drive roller of the transport system amongthe plurality of roller pairs 34 to 36 is provided in the main body 12.The encoder 44 outputs, to a controller 50, a detection signal includingpulses whose number is proportional to the amount of rotation of thedrive roller. Therefore, the controller 50 can grasp the position(transport position) of the document D being transported and thetransport speed in the controller 50 based on the detection signal ofthe encoder 44.

Further, a document sensor 45 that detects the presence/absence of thedocument D set on the document support 13 is disposed between the pairof feed rollers 33. The document sensor 45 is, for example, a contactsensor having a lever. When the document D is set on the documentsupport 13, the document sensor 45 is turned on when the set document Dpushes the lever.

Further, a document presence/absence sensor 46 capable of detecting thepresence/absence of the document D is disposed at a position slightlydownstream of the nip point of the pair of transport rollers 35 in thetransport direction Y. The document presence/absence sensor 46 is, forexample, a contact sensor having a lever (contactor). The documentpresence/absence sensor 46 detects the document D when the front end ofthe document D pushes the lever and is turned on, and when the rear endof the document D passes by and the lever is not pushed, the documentpresence/absence sensor 46 does not detect the document D and is turnedoff. Therefore, based on the detection signal (ON/OFF) of the documentpresence/absence sensor 46, the controller 50 detects that the front endof the document D has passed through the pair of transport rollers 35and the rear end of the document D has passed through the pair oftransport rollers 35. The detection result by the documentpresence/absence sensor 46 detecting the front end and the rear end ofthe document D is used for determining the start timing and the endtiming of the reading operation of a reading unit 40 (40A, 40B)described later. Further, since the document presence/absence sensor 46can detect the front end and the rear end of the document D, it is alsopossible to detect the length of the document D in the transportdirection Y, that is, the document size determined from the length basedon the transport distance of the document D from when the front end ofthe document D is detected to when the rear end is detected. Thedocument presence/absence sensor 46 may be a non-contact sensor such asan optical sensor.

The reading unit 40 that reads an image is provided in the main body 12of the image reading apparatus 11. The pair of reading units 40 isprovided on both sides of the transport path 29 at a position betweenthe pair of transport rollers 35 and the pair of discharge rollers 36 inthe transport direction Y. In the embodiment the pair of reading units40 includes a first reading unit 40A that reads the front face (lowerface) of the document D transported along the transport path 29, and asecond reading unit 40B that reads the back face (upper face) of thedocument D transported along the transport path 29. Although they arelocated slightly offset from each other in the transport direction Y,the configuration may not include one of the reading units.

The pair of reading units 40 includes a light source 41 capable ofirradiating the document D being transported with light by irradiatingthe reading region SA with light, and an image sensor 42 capable ofreading an image from the document D. In the normal reading mode, onlythe first reading unit 40A performs the reading operation to read thefront face of the document D, and in the double-sided read mode, boththe first reading unit 40A and the second reading unit 40B perform thereading operation to read both sides (front face and back face) of thedocument D.

The light source 41 is composed of, for example, an LED, a fluorescentlamp, or the like. The image sensor 42 receives the reflected light whenthe light emitted from the light source 41 is reflected by the documentD to convert the received light into an electric signal to output apixel signal having a value corresponding to the amount of receivedlight. In this way, the image sensor 42 is a sensor that reads an image.The image sensor 42 is, for example, a linear image sensor. The imagereading apparatus 11 is capable of performing color scanning andmonochrome scanning (grayscale scanning). In the following, the lightsource 41 and the image sensor 42 may be referred to as a first lightsource 41A and a first image sensor 42A for the first reading unit 40A,and may be referred to as a second light source 41B and a second imagesensor 42B for the second reading unit 40B.

The image sensor 42 is, for example, a contact type image sensor inwhich a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements is disposed in arow along a main scanning direction X. Further, the image sensor 42 isspecifically a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) imagesensor. The image sensor 42 photoelectrically converts the lightreceived by each photoelectric conversion element to output a pixelsignal having a value corresponding to the amount of received light.

Further, a color reference plate 43 is disposed so as to face the imagesensor 42 with the transport path 29 disposed therebetween. The colorreference plate 43 is disposed in a region that includes the region ofthe document D and is wider than the region of the document D in theregion to be read by the reading unit 40. Therefore, the color referenceplate 43 is a member that makes it possible to grasp whether the imageread by the reading unit 40 is the region of the document D. That is,the color reference plate 43 is a background plate that can be read asthe background of the document D. Further, the color reference plate 43is a member for obtaining a white reference value for shadingcorrection, and a white reference plate exhibiting white or a grayreference plate exhibiting gray is used as the color reference plate 43.As a result, the color reference plate 43 is read as a white referenceimage, and the white reference value is generated based on the readwhite reference image. In the case of a gray reference plate, the colorreference plate 43 is read as the background (gray background) of thedocument and used for detecting the position and region of the documentD. When a sensor that detects the document region is separatelyprovided, the color reference plate 43 is preferably a white referenceplate. Further, the color reference plate 43 is not limited to have theplate shape, and may have any shape and color as long as it is areference member for obtaining a white reference value that is areference for luminance.

The image reading apparatus 11 includes the controller 50. Thecontroller 50 controls the image reading apparatus 11 when a job to readan image from document D is input based on an operation signal from theinput unit 21 (see FIG. 1 ) operated by the user or a read instructionsignal (read instruction) from a host device 100 described later. Whenperforming reading control, the controller 50 controls the feed motor37, the transport motor 38, and the reading unit 40 (40A, 40B) toprocess image data based on the image read from the document D by thereading unit 40.

Next, the electrical configuration of the image reading apparatus 11will be described with reference to FIG. 3 . As shown in FIG. 3 , theimage reading apparatus 11 is coupled to the host device 100 through acommunication cable. The host device 100 is, for example, a personalcomputer (hereinafter, also referred to as a “PC”), and includes aninput unit 101 and a display unit 102 that are electrically coupled tothe main body of the personal computer. The host device 100 includes areading driver including software having a function of giving a readinginstruction to the image reading apparatus 11 by installing a readingdriver program. The host device 100 is not limited to a PC, but may be amobile information terminal (PDA (Personal Digital Assistants)), atablet PC, a smart device such as a smartphone, or the like.

When the user operates the input unit 21 or the input unit 101 of thehost device 100, the setting conditions related to the image readingprocess are set. That is, the setting conditions are set by the input bythe user. The setting conditions include reading conditions including adocument size, a reading resolution, a reading color, a single-sidedreading/a double-sided reading, and the like, and storage conditionsincluding a read data (image data) storage format, a transfer method,and a storage destination. The document size includes, for example, A4size and B5 size, the reading resolution includes, for example, 300dpi/600 dpi, and the reading color includes monochrome (grayscale)/color. The storage format includes a PDF format, a PDF/A format,a JPEG format, a GIF format, a TIFF format and the like. Further, thetransfer method includes transferring to the host device 100 and mailtransferring, and the address of the storage destination is specified asthe storage destination.

The image reading apparatus 11 has a built-in controller 50 thatcontrols the image reading apparatus 11 in an integrated manner. Thecontroller 50 includes a computer 60 including a microprocessor or thelike. The computer 60 includes a storage unit 61 (memory) including aRAM, a nonvolatile memory, and the like. The storage unit 61 stores aprogram PR or the like to be executed during read control.

Further, the controller 50 includes an input unit 62 including an inputinterface for inputting various pieces of data and signals from the hostdevice 100, and an output unit 63 including an output interface foroutputting the read data read by the image reading apparatus 11 to thehost device 100.

Further, the controller 50 includes a timing generator 64 (hereinafter,also referred to as a “TG64”) that outputs a pulse signal that definesvarious operation timings including a reading operation to the imagesensors 42A and 42B. Further, the controller 50 includes an analog frontend 65 (hereinafter, also referred to as an “AFE65”) that performsanalog/digital conversion (A/D conversion) of a pixel signal input fromthe image sensors 42A and 42B.

The storage unit 61 stores the program PR including the registration jobcontrol process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 . Further, the storageunit 61 stores the setting conditions by the input by the user. Thecomputer 60 includes a main controller 70, a transport controller 71, areading controller 72, and an image processing unit 73 as functionalparts composed of software internally configured by executing theprogram PR. The main controller 70 comprehensively controls the imagereading apparatus 11.

The transport controller 71 drives and controls the feed motor 37 andthe transport motor 38 according to the instruction from the maincontroller 70. When the feed roller 33 is rotated by driving the feedmotor 37, a plurality of documents D set in the document support 13 isfed into the main body 12 one by one in order from the lowest document.Further, when the feed motor 37 is driven, the one drive roller 34Aconstituting the pair of feed rollers 34 is rotationally driven, andwhen the transport motor 38 is driven, the other separation roller 34Bis rotationally driven. In particular, the transport controller 71drives and controls the feed motor 37 and the transport motor 38 so thatthe document D is transported at a reading speed corresponding to thereading resolution (for example, 300/600 dpi) in the reading region SAin the middle of the transport path 29. For example, when the readingresolution is relatively low (for example, 300 dpi), the document D istransported at a high speed, and when the reading resolution isrelatively high (for example, 600 dpi), the document D is transported ata low speed.

The reading controller 72 controls the reading unit 40 through the TG64, and causes the reading unit 40 to read the image of the document D.In particular, the reading controller 72 outputs a pulse signal to theTG64 that defines the operation timing of various operations includingthe reading operation to the image sensor 42 to control the lightemission of the light source 41 via a light source drive unit (notshown) to irradiate the reading region SA with light from the lightsource 41.

When the digital signal of the image read by the reading unit 40 isinput via the AFE 65, the image processing unit 73 temporarily storesimage data based on the input digital signal to perform a knowncorrection process such as a shading correction on the stored image datato generate image data of the document D. The image processing unit 73performs various corrections such as a gamma correction in addition tothe shading correction to output the corrected image data to the hostdevice 100 via a communication cable (not shown) through the output unit63.

In the embodiment, a setting condition is selected according to input bythe user, and then, the image is read under the setting conditioncorresponding to the selection result according to input by the user.The image reading apparatus 11 has a pre-registration function(so-called a “favorite job registration function”) of pre-registeringthe setting conditions. The display unit 22 can display job icons (forexample, indicated by reference numerals 90B to 90E in FIG. 7 ) as anexample of the setting condition information indicating the settingconditions registered in advance, and when the displayed job icon isselected and input from the input unit 21, the image is read based onthe setting condition corresponding to the selected job icon.

In this way, normally, it is necessary to perform input for reading theimage after input for selecting the setting condition is performed everytime the image is read, but when the setting condition is registered inadvance, the image can be read based on the pre-registered settingcondition simply by selecting the job icon indicating the settingcondition registered in advance. In particular, when it is necessary toselect a plurality of setting conditions (for example, a document sizeand a resolution), once a combination of the plurality of settingconditions is registered in advance, the image can be read based on thecombination of the plurality of pre-registered setting conditions simplyby selecting the job icon that indicating the combination of theplurality of setting conditions.

Further, in the present embodiment, the image reading apparatus 11 hasan authentication function of authenticating the user. When the user isauthenticated, the job icon to be displayed preferentially to thedisplay unit 22 can be made to be different according to theauthenticated user. In the present embodiment, up to a predeterminednumber of (for example, 4) job icons can be displayed in the displayarea 23 of the display unit 22, while the number of setting conditionsexceeding the predetermined number can be registered. For this reason,in the related art, there is no problem when a job icon displayed in thedisplay area 23 of the display unit 22 can be selected, but when a jobicon that is not displayed in the display area 23 of the display unit 22is to be selected, it is necessary to find the job icon that the userdesires, for example, by performing input such as display switching.Therefore, in the embodiment, in such a case, the job icon to bedisplayed preferentially to the display unit 22 can be made to bedifferent according to the authenticated user, so that it is possible toprovide a situation in which the user can easily select the desired jobicon.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the main controller 70 includes an authenticationunit 76, a registration unit 77, a determination unit 78, and a displaycontroller 79. In other words, the controller 50 includes theauthentication unit 76, the registration unit 77, the determination unit78, and the display controller 79. In the present embodiment, theauthentication unit 76 compares the user ID and the password input fromthe input unit 21 with the user ID and the password stored in thestorage unit 61 to authenticate the user, but the present disclosure isnot limited to this. For example, the authentication unit 76 may readthe user ID and the password from a medium (for example, an ID card)from which the user ID can be read to compare them with the user ID andthe password stored in the storage unit 61 to authenticate the user.That is, the authentication unit 76 may authenticate the user accordingto any method. In addition, such an authentication unit 76 alsofunctions as an identification unit that can identify the user.

The registration unit 77 registers the setting condition in advanceaccording to the input by the user. Specific examples of the settingcondition include A4 size as the read document size, 600 dpi as thereading resolution, monochrome as the reading color, a PDF format as thestorage format, and transferring to the host device 100 as the transfermethod, and not only one type of setting condition but also acombination of a plurality of types of setting conditions is included.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4 , in the present embodiment, the storageunit 61 stores a user database UDB. In the user database UDB, a user ID,a password, a user name, a display color, and a display order areassociated with each other. The user database UDB is updated accordingto the input by the user.

The user ID is information that makes the user identifiable, thepassword is a password used when authenticating the user, and the username is a name of the user to be displayed on the display unit 22.

The display color is a user-specific color to be displayed on thedisplay unit 22, and the image is displayed in the set display color. Togive a specific example, when “blue” is set as a display color CLAcorresponding to the user UA, part of the image of the display area 23of the display unit 22 is displayed in blue.

The display order is information for determining the priority order ofthe job icons to be displayed on the display unit 22 among the settingconditions corresponding to the authenticated user. Specific examplesinclude an ascending order, or a descending order of registration timein which setting conditions are registered, an order of types of settingconditions (job contents), an ascending order, or a descending order ofjob icon names (alphanumeric and alphanumeric characters, and the like),an order of the usage history, which is a history of the number of timesthe job icon is used (selected), and the like.

In this way, the user is authenticated by referring to the user databaseUDB. Then, when the user is authenticated, the display color and thedisplay order corresponding to the authenticated user can be identifiedby referring to the user database UDB.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5 , in the present embodiment, the storageunit 61 stores a registration job database JDB. In the registration jobdatabase JDB, a registration job ID, a registration time, a registrationname, a user ID, a priority display flag, job contents, and a usagehistory as an example of history information are associated with eachother. The registration job database JDB is updated according to theinput by the user.

The registration job ID is information unique to the registered settingcondition, the registration time is information indicating the time(year, month, day and time) when the setting condition was registered,and the registration name is a name registered as the setting condition(job icon) to be displayed on the display unit 22.

The user ID is a user ID indicating the user corresponding to theregistration job. That is, the registration unit 77 registers thesetting condition so as to correspond to the user. The priority displayflag is information indicating whether the setting condition is asetting condition to be displayed with the highest priority among thesetting conditions corresponding to the authenticated user when the useris authenticated. The job contents are information indicating thecontents of one type of setting condition or the contents of acombination of a plurality of types of setting conditions. The usagehistory is history information indicating the number of times theregistered setting condition is used.

In this way, when the user is authenticated, it is possible to identifywhether the setting condition is a setting condition corresponding tothe authenticated user, whether the setting condition is a settingcondition to be displayed with the highest priority among the settingconditions corresponding to the authenticated user, the contents of thesetting condition, and the usage history by referring to theregistration job database JDB. That is, the registration unit 77registers the setting condition in association with the user accordingto the input by the user.

The determination unit 78 determines the priority order of the settingconditions to be displayed as the job icons on the display unit 22 fromthe setting conditions registered by the registration unit 77. Inparticular, when the user is authenticated by the authentication unit76, the determination unit 78 refers to the registration job databaseJDB to determine the priority order so that a setting conditioncorresponding to the authenticated user is prioritized over a settingcondition not corresponding to the user. Further, when the user isauthenticated by the authentication unit 76, the determination unit 78refers to the registration job database JDB to determine the priorityorder so that a setting condition that the priority display flag is setis prioritized over a setting condition that the priority display flagis not set among the setting conditions corresponding to theauthenticated user.

The display controller 79 controls the image to be displayed on thedisplay unit 22. In particular, the display controller 79 displays thejob icon corresponding to the setting condition determined by thedetermination unit 78. That is, the display controller 79 can make thejob icon to be displayed with priority different according to theauthenticated user.

Next, the registration job control process performed by the computer 60will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 . Theregistration job control process is a process performed at apredetermined cycle.

As shown in FIG. 6 , in step S11, the controller 50 determines whetherthere is a login input according to the input from the input unit 21. Inthis process, when the controller 50 determines that there is no logininput, the controller 50 advances the process to step S15 withoutexecuting steps S12 to S14. On the other hand, when the controller 50determines that there is the login input, the controller 50 advances theprocess to step S12.

In step S12, the controller 50 performs the user authentication process.In this process, the controller 50 acquires the user ID and the passwordcorresponding to the input from the input unit 21. The controller 50refers to the user database UDB, authenticates the user by determiningwhether the information that the entered user ID and password match isin the user database UDB, and advances the process to step S13. In theembodiment, step S12 corresponds to an example of an identification step(authentication step).

In step S13, the controller 50 determines whether the authentication isnormal based on the result of the user authentication performed in stepS12. When the controller 50 determines that the information that theentered user ID and the password match is in the user database UDB, thecontroller 50 determines that the user authentication is performednormally. When the controller 50 determines that the authentication isnot normal, the controller 50 advances the process to step S15 withoutexecuting step S14. On the other hand, when the controller 50 determinesthat the authentication is normal, the controller 50 advances theprocess to step S14.

In step S14, the controller 50 determines the display order and thedisplay color corresponding to the user. In this process, the controller50 refers to the registration job database JDB to determine the priorityorder so that a setting condition that corresponds to the authenticateduser, and that has a high priority with the priority display flag beingset is prioritized over a setting condition that corresponds to theauthenticated user, and that has a low priority with the prioritydisplay flag not being set among the registered setting conditions.Further, when the user is authenticated, the controller 50 refers to theregistration job database JDB to determine the priority order so that asetting condition corresponding to the authenticated user is prioritizedover a setting condition not corresponding to the user among theregistered setting conditions.

Further, the controller 50 refers to the user database UDB and reads thedisplay order corresponding to the authenticated user (user ID). Thecontroller 50 refers to the registration job database JDB to determinethe priority order so that the setting condition that corresponds to theauthenticated user, and in which the priority display flag is set isranked according to the display order corresponding to the authenticateduser. In addition, the controller 50 refers to the registration jobdatabase JDB to determine the priority order so that the settingcondition that corresponds to the authenticated user, and in which thepriority display flag is not set is ranked according to the displayorder corresponding to the authenticated user.

In particular, when the usage history is set as a display ordercorresponding to the authenticated user, the controller 50 refers to theregistration job database JDB to determine the priority order so that asetting condition that the number of times the image is read is large isprioritized over a setting condition that the number of times the imageis read is small. That is, the controller 50 determines the priorityorder so that a second specific setting condition that the number oftimes the image is read is large, compared with a first specific settingcondition, is prioritized over the first specific setting conditionamong the registered setting conditions based on the usage history.

Further, the controller 50 reads the normal (standard) display orderfrom the storage unit 61, refers to the registration job database JDB,and determines the priority order of the setting conditions that do notcorrespond to the authenticated user according to the normal displayorder. In the present embodiment, the normal priority is based on thechronological order of the registration date and time of the job icon(setting condition), but the priority is not limited to this. Forexample, the image reading apparatus 11 can change the normal priorityorder. In this way, when the user is authenticated, the controller 50determines the display order corresponding to the authenticated user.

Further, the controller 50 refers to the user database UDB, reads thedisplay color corresponding to the authenticated user (user ID),determines the read display color, and advances the process to step S15.Specifically, the controller 50 refers to the user database UDB, readsthe display color corresponding to the authenticated user ID, and when adisplay color (such as blue) other than the normal display color (forexample, white) is set, determines the display color. On the other hand,the controller 50 determines the normal display color when the normaldisplay color is set. In this way, when the user is authenticated, thecontroller 50 determines the display color corresponding to theauthenticated user. In the present embodiment, step S14 corresponds toan example of the determination step.

In step S15, the controller 50 determines whether a job registrationoperation is performed. In this process, the controller 50 determineswhether the job registration operation is performed according to theinput from the input unit 21 in a state where the user authentication isnormally performed. When the controller 50 determines that the jobregistration operation is not performed, the controller 50 advances theprocess to step S18 without executing steps S16 and S17. On the otherhand, when the controller 50 determines that the job registrationoperation is performed, the controller 50 advances the process to stepS16.

In step S16, the controller 50 registers the job corresponding to theuser. In this process, the controller 50 acquires the setting conditionaccording to the input from the input unit 21, and registers theacquired setting condition in the registration job database JDB inassociation with the user ID of the authenticated user. That is, thecontroller 50 (registration unit 77) registers the setting condition inassociation with the user according to the input by the user. Inparticular, the controller 50 (registration unit 77) registers thesetting condition in association with the priority represented by thepriority display flag according to the input by the user. Further, inthe present embodiment, the controller 50 (registration unit 77)registers the display color in association with the authenticated userby registering the display color corresponding to the setting conditionaccording to the input by the user. In the embodiment, step S16corresponds to an example of the registration step.

In step S17, the controller 50 performs the job display update process.In this process, as in step S14, the controller 50 determines thedisplay order and the display color corresponding to the user includingthe registered setting conditions, and updates the display order of jobicons (setting conditions) and the display color of the background imageof the job icons. In the present embodiment, step S17 corresponds to anexample of the determination step.

In step S18, the controller 50 determines whether there is a logoutinput according to the input from the input unit 21. In this process,when the controller 50 determines that there is no logout input, thecontroller 50 advances the process to step S20 without executing stepS19. On the other hand, when the controller 50 determines that there isthe logout input, the controller 50 advances the process to step S19.

In step S19, the controller 50 reads the normal display order anddisplay color stored in the storage unit 61 to determine the normaldisplay order and display color. Further, in the present embodiment,when the power is turned on, the user is not authenticated, and thecontroller 50 determines the normal display order and display color asin step S19. That is, when the user is not authenticated, the controller50 determines the normal display order and display color instead of thedisplay order and display color corresponding to the user. In thepresent embodiment, step S19 corresponds to an example of thedetermination step.

In step S20, the controller 50 determines whether the job displaycondition is satisfied. In this process, the controller 50 determinesthat the job display condition is satisfied when an operation ofdisplaying a plurality of job icons on the display unit 22 is performedaccording to the input from the input unit 21. When the controller 50determines that the job display condition is not satisfied, thecontroller 50 advances the process to step S22 without executing stepS21. On the other hand, when the controller 50 determines that the jobdisplay condition is satisfied, the controller 50 advances the processto step S21.

In step S21, the controller 50 displays the job display screen in thedetermined display order and display color. In this process, thecontroller 50 (display controller 79) refers to the priority order ofthe job icons determined in steps S14, S17, and S19, and displays thejob icons on the display unit 22 based on the priority order. Inparticular, when the user is authenticated, the controller 50 (displaycontroller 79) displays up to a predetermined number of job icons on thedisplay unit 22 in descending order of the priority order determined insteps S14 and S17. Then, the controller 50 (display controller 79)slides the job icons left and right according to the input by the usersuch as a swipe operation to switch the job icons to be displayed.

Further, when the user is authenticated, the controller 50 (displaycontroller 79) refers to the user database UDB, reads the display colorcorresponding to the authenticated user (user ID), and displays abackground image 90G (see FIGS. 11, 16 and 18 ) on the display unit 22in the display color. On the other hand, when the user is notauthenticated, the controller 50 displays the background image 90G (seeFIG. 7 ) on the display unit 22 in the normal display color. In theembodiment, step S21 corresponds to an example of a display controlstep.

Moreover, in the embodiment, the controller 50 displays various screensin the display area 23 of the display unit 22 according to the input bythe user, and displays various images (for example, buttons, icons,tabs, and the like) in various display areas on various screens.

In step S22, the controller 50 determines whether a job selectionoperation is performed. In this process, the controller 50 determinesthat the job selection operation is performed when the job icondisplayed on a main screen 80 is selected (touched) according to theinput from the input unit 21. When the controller 50 determines that thejob selection operation is not performed, the controller 50 ends theregistration job control process without executing step S23. On theother hand, when the controller 50 determines that the job selectionoperation is performed, the controller 50 advances the process to stepS23.

In step S23, the controller 50 performs the selected job and advancesthe process to step S24. In this process, the controller 50 reads thesetting condition corresponding to the selected job icon, controls,based on the setting condition, the feed motor 37 and the transportmotor 38 so as to transport the document D, and controls the readingunit 40 so that the image is read. That is, the controller 50 (readingcontroller 72) causes the reading unit 40 to read the image under thesetting condition corresponding to the job icon selected according tothe input by the user among the job icons displayed on the display unit22. In the embodiment, step S23 corresponds to an example of a readingcontrol step.

Then, in step S24, the controller 50 updates the usage historycorresponding to the selected job icon in the registration job databaseJDB, and ends the registration job control process. In this way, thecontroller 50 stores the number of times the image is read as the usagehistory for each setting condition based on the selected job icon.

Next, the operation of the image reading apparatus 11 will be described.As shown in FIG. 7 , the main screen 80 is displayed in the display area23 of the display unit 22. A main area 80A, which is an example of apredetermined display area, a header area 80B, and a footer area 80C areallocated as the main screen 80. The main screen 80 is a screen that aspecific user does not log in but that is available to any user.

An image reading button 90A is displayed in the main area 80A. When theimage reading button 90A is touched, the image is read under the settingcondition currently set. Further, a plurality of job icons 90B to 90E isdisplayed in the main area 80A. When any of the plurality of job icons90B to 90E is touched, the image is read under the setting conditioncorresponding to the touched job icon without the image reading button90A being not touched.

When the display area 23 of the display unit 22 is swiped in theleft-right direction, the job icons displayed in the main area 80Aslides to display different job icons. In particular, when the displayof the main screen 80 is started, the job icons having a higher priorityorder are displayed in order from the left side, and when the swipeoperation is performed to the left, the job icons having a lowerpriority order can also be displayed.

To give a specific example, when the display of the main screen 80 isstarted, the job icon with the first ranked priority is displayed in thejob icon 90B, and the job icons with the second to fourth rankedpriority are displayed in the job icons 90C to 90E. Then, when the swipeoperation is performed to the left, the plurality of job icons slides tothe left, and the job icon with the first ranked priority slides to theleft to be deleted. Further, the job icons with the second to fourthranked priority are displayed in the job icons 90B to 90D, and the jobicon with the fifth ranked priority is newly displayed in the job icons90E. Further, since the user authentication is not performed at thistime, the priority order of the job icons indicates the normal prioritythat does not correspond to the user.

Further, a favorite button 90F is displayed in the main area 80A. Whenthe favorite button 90F is touched, the job icon (setting condition) canbe registered and edited. Further, in the main area 80A, the whitebackground image 90G is displayed as the background of various imagessuch as the image reading button 90A, the plurality of job icons 90B to90E, and the favorite button 90F. A login start button 90H is displayedin the header area 80B. When the login start button 90H is touched, alogin screen 81 shown in FIG. 8 is displayed.

As shown in FIG. 8 , an input box 91A for inputting a user ID, a loginbutton 91B, and a new registration button 91C are displayed on the loginscreen 81. When the input box 91A is touched, the user ID can beselected, and when the login button 91B is touched with the user IDselected, a password input screen 82 shown in FIG. 9 is displayed.

As shown in FIG. 9 , a plurality of input buttons is displayed on thepassword input screen 82, and the password can be input according to theinput from the input buttons. When the password is input, the user isauthenticated, and the login is normally performed, the login resultscreen 83 shown in FIG. 10 is displayed, and then the screen returns tothe main screen 80.

As shown in FIG. 11 , when the login is normally performed, the jobicons 90B to 90E are displayed in the priority order corresponding tothe authenticated user in the main area 80A of the main screen 80.

In the present embodiment, in the priority order of the job icons 90B to90E, a job icon corresponding to the authenticated users has higherranking than a job icon not corresponding to the authenticated user.Moreover, in the embodiment, in the priority order of the job icons 90Bto 90E, a job icon in which the priority display flag is set has higherranking than a job icon in which no priority display flag is set amongthe job icons corresponding to authenticated users.

Moreover, in the embodiment, in the priority order of the job icons 90Bto 90E, the order is based on the display order set for each user in thejob icons that correspond to the authenticated user and that have thepriority display flag set. Moreover, in the embodiment, in the priorityorder of the job icons 90B to 90E, the order is based on the displayorder set for each user in the job icons that correspond to theauthenticated user and in which no priority display flag is set.Further, in the present embodiment, in the priority order of the jobicons 90B to 90E displayed, the order is based on the normal priorityorder in the job icons that do not correspond to the authenticated user.

When the favorite button 90F is touched, a job screen 84 shown in FIG.12 is displayed. User tabs 94A to 94D, job edit buttons 94E to 941, anda job registration button 94J are displayed on the job screen 84.

The user tabs 94A to 94D are displayed in the order of userregistration, and when the screen is swiped left or right, the displayof the user tab is switched. When any of the user tabs 94A to 94D isselected, the job edit buttons 94E to 941 and the job registrationbutton 94J of the job icon (setting condition) corresponding to theselected user are displayed. In this case, five job icons correspondingto the user UA are registered, the respective job edit buttons 94E to941 corresponding to the five job icons are displayed, and one jobregistration button 94J is displayed.

The job edit buttons 94E to 941 are buttons for editing the job icons(setting conditions) registered in advance. The job registration button94J is a button for newly registering a job icon (setting condition).When the job registration button 94J is touched, a job registrationscreen 85 shown in FIG. 13 is displayed.

As shown in FIG. 13 , an image for newly registering the job contents ofthe job icon (setting condition) is displayed on the job registrationscreen 85. In the embodiment a job name registration box 95A forinputting the name of the job icon and a plurality of setting conditionbuttons 95B to 95D for specifying various job contents (settingconditions) to be registered are displayed on the job registrationscreen 85.

To give a specific example, the setting condition button 95B is set as abutton to specify the document size, the setting condition button 95C isset as a button to specify the resolution, and the setting conditionbutton 95D is set as a button to specify the reading color among theplurality of setting condition buttons 95B to 95D, but the presentdisclosure is not limited to this.

When an OK button 95E is touched after the job contents of the job iconis set, a new job icon is registered and a registration confirmationscreen 86 shown in FIG. 14 is displayed. Then, as shown in FIG. 15 , ajob edit button 94K corresponding to the registered job icon isdisplayed on the job screen 84. Also, in this case, for example, whenthe priority display flag is set to correspond to the registered jobicon, an image indicating that the priority display flag is set (starimage in the embodiment) is displayed so as to correspond to the jobicon.

As shown in FIG. 16 , when the screen is returned the main screen 80,the job icons 90B to 90E are displayed in the priority order includingthe newly registered job icon. Further, for example, when the prioritydisplay flag is set so as to correspond to the registered job icon, thejob icon with the priority display flag set is displayed as the job icon90B having a high priority. In addition, an image indicating that thepriority display flag is set (star image in the embodiment) is displayedso as to correspond to the job icon.

Further, as shown in FIG. 17 , when registering and editing a job icon,an icon selection screen 87 may be displayed according to the input bythe user. A plurality of types of icon images 97A to 97F is displayed onthe icon selection screen 87, and any of the plurality of types of iconimages 97A to 97F can be registered as the icon image of the job icon.

Further, a plurality of types of display color images 97G to 97J isdisplayed on the icon selection screen 87, and any of the plurality oftypes of display color images 97G to 97J can be registered as thedisplay color of the job icon. In the present embodiment, the displaycolor registered to correspond to the job icon is registered as thedisplay color corresponding to the user corresponding to the job icon.Therefore, for example, when blue is registered as the display color ofthe job icon corresponding to the user UA, the blue is registered as thedisplay color corresponding to the user UA.

As shown in FIG. 18 , when the user is authenticated and the displaycolor corresponding to the user is set, the background image 90G(hatched area in FIG. 18 ), which is an example of predeterminedinformation, is displayed not in the normal display color (white) but ina display color (for example, blue) corresponding to the user in themain area 80A of the main screen 80.

As described in detail above, the following effects can be obtainedaccording to the present embodiment.

(1) The setting condition related to reading of an image is registeredin association with the user according to the input by the user. Whenthe user is authenticated, the priority order is determined so that asetting condition corresponding to the authenticated user is prioritizedover a setting condition not corresponding to the authenticated useramong the registered setting conditions, and job icons indicating thesetting conditions is displayed in the determined priority order. Forthis reason, the setting condition corresponding to the authenticateduser can be displayed with priority, and it is possible to provide asituation where it is easy to select the setting condition correspondingto the user, so that it is possible to improve the convenience of theuser to select any of the registered setting conditions.

(2) Further, the user can be identified by authenticating the user, andthe user can be appropriately identified.

(3) The display unit 22 displays up to a predetermined number of (4 inthe embodiment) job icons indicating setting conditions related toreading of an image in the display area 23 (main area 80A). When theuser is authenticated, up to a predetermined number of job iconsindicating the setting conditions are displayed in descending order ofthe priority order determined among the registered setting conditions,the job icon to be displayed is switched according to the input by theuser. For this reason, even when there is an upper limit to the numberof job icons that can be displayed, the job icons can be displayed indescending order of the priority order, and the job icon to be displayedaccording to the input by the user can be switched, so that it ispossible to improve the convenience of the user to select any of theregistered setting conditions.

(4) The setting conditions related to reading of an image are registeredin association with the priority based on the priority display flag, andthe priority order of the registered setting condition is determinedbased on the registered priority. For this reason, it is possible todetermine the priority order of the registered setting conditions basedon the priority represented by the priority display flag registered tocorrespond to the setting condition, and the setting conditions can bedisplayed with the priority according to the input by the user, so thatit is possible to improve the convenience of the user to select any ofthe registered setting conditions.

(5) In particular, when a user is authenticated, the priority order isdetermined so that a setting condition having a high registered priorityis prioritized over a setting condition having a low registered priorityamong the setting conditions corresponding to the authenticated user.Therefore, the setting condition can be registered in association withthe priority among the setting conditions corresponding to theauthenticated user. The priority order of the setting conditionscorresponding to the user can be determined based on the priority, andthe setting conditions can be displayed with the priority according tothe input by the user, so that it is possible to improve the convenienceof the user to select any of the registered setting conditions.

(6) The usage history in which the image is read is stored for eachsetting condition based on the job icon selected according to the inputby the user, and the priority order is determined so that a settingcondition (second specific setting condition) that the number of timesthe image is read is large is prioritized over a setting condition(first specific setting condition) that the number of times the image isread is small among the registered setting conditions based on the usagehistory. For this reason, it is possible to determine the priority orderof the registered setting condition based on the usage history in whichthe image is read, and the job icons can be displayed in the priorityorder based on the usage history in which the image is read, so that itis possible to improve the convenience of the user to select any of theregistered setting conditions.

(7) Further, in the related art, when setting conditions are registeredby a plurality of users, it is difficult to recognize the authenticateduser even when the user is authenticated. Therefore, it is desired toimprove the convenience of the user to select any of the registeredsetting conditions. Therefore, the display color is registered inassociation with the user, and when the user is authenticated, thebackground image 90G is displayed in the display color corresponding tothe authenticated user. Therefore, the identified user can be recognizedfrom the display color in which the background image 90G is displayed,so that it is possible to improve the convenience of the user to selectany of the registered setting conditions.

(8) When visually recognizing the background image 90G of the job iconas information to be displayed on the display unit 22, the authenticateduser can be recognized from the display color, so that it is possible toimprove the convenience of the user to select any of the registeredsetting conditions.

Second Embodiment

In the first embodiment, when the user is authenticated, the backgroundimage 90G is displayed in the display color corresponding to the user,but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, in thesecond embodiment, part or all of the display area of the job icon maybe displayed in the display color corresponding to the user.

As a specific example, the outer frame of the job icons 90B to 90E shownin FIG. 18 may be displayed in the display color corresponding to theuser. Further, the background image located in the background of each ofthe motif images of the job icons 90B to 90E may be displayed in thedisplay color corresponding to the user. Specifically, when each of thejob icons 90B to 90E is composed of a type image indicating the type(motif) of the job icon and a background image of the type image, thebackground image may be displayed in the display color corresponding tothe user. That is, in the area of each of the job icons 90B to 90E, thebackground image of the type image indicating the type of the job iconmay be displayed in the display color corresponding to the user.Further, for example, the type image may be displayed in the displaycolor corresponding to the user. Further, additional image of thedisplay color corresponding to the user may be displayed in each of thejob icons 90B to 90E. Further, for example, a combination of these maybe acceptable. That is, part or all of the area of each of the job icons90B to 90E may be displayed in the display color corresponding to theuser.

Further, for example, when the user is authenticated, the job iconcorresponding to the authenticated user may be displayed in the displaycolor corresponding to the user. In this case, the job icon that doesnot correspond to the authenticated user may be displayed in the displaycolor corresponding to a user other than the authenticated user, or maybe displayed in the normal display color. Further, for example, the jobicon corresponding to the user may be displayed in the display colorcorresponding to the user regardless of whether the user isauthenticated or the user is not authenticated. In this case, there isno problem even when the job icons are not displayed in the priorityorder corresponding to the authenticated user.

As described in detail above, the following effects can be obtainedaccording to the present embodiment.

(9) In the related art, for example, when the number of settingconditions to be registered increases as the setting conditions areregistered by a plurality of users, setting condition information otherthan the setting condition information indicating the setting conditionsdesired by the user is indicated although the desired information isdisplayed, so that it is necessary to find the setting conditioninformation indicating the setting conditions desired by the user.Therefore, it is desired to improve the convenience of the user toselect any of the registered setting conditions. Therefore, the displaycolor is registered in association with the user, and part or all of thedisplay area of the job icon corresponding to the user is displayed inthe display color corresponding to the user. For this reason, the usercan be recognized from the display color in which part or all of thedisplay area of the job icon is displayed, so that it is possible toimprove the convenience of the user to select any of the registeredsetting conditions.

(10) When visually recognizing the job icon as information to bedisplayed on the display unit 22, it is possible to recognize whetherthe job icon represents an authenticated user and a job iconcorresponding to the authenticated user from the display color of thejob icon, so that it is possible to improve the convenience of the userto select any of the registered setting conditions.

Third Embodiment

In the first and second embodiments, the priority order is determinedbased on the display order corresponding to the user in the userdatabase UDB according to the input by the user, but the presentdisclosure is not limited to this. For example, in the third embodiment,regardless of the input by the user, as a result of detecting the sizeof document D, the priority order may be determined so that a settingcondition corresponding to the detected document D size is prioritizedover a setting condition not corresponding to the detected document Dsize.

In the third embodiment, the image reading apparatus 11 includes, on thedocument support 13 on which the document D is placed, a first detectionsensor that detects whether the edge guide 13B is disposed at apredetermined position, and a second detection sensor that detectswhether the auxiliary support portion 13C is disposed at a predeterminedposition. In the present embodiment, the first detection sensor and thesecond detection sensor correspond to an example of the document sizedetection unit that detects the size of the document D, but one or threeor more sensors may be used. Further, for example, a sensor that detectsthe document D may be provided on the placement face 13A, and the sizeof the document D placed on the placement face 13A may be detected.

The controller 50 is coupled to the first detection sensor and thesecond detection sensor, and can receive a detection signal from thefirst detection sensor and a detection signal from the second detectionsensor. Then, the controller 50 identifies the size of the document Dplaced on the placement face 13A of the document support 13 based on thedetection signal from the first detection sensor and the detectionsignal from the second detection sensor.

Then, the controller 50 determines the priority order based on the sizeof the specified document D. To give a specific example, the settingconditions related to reading of an image include a setting condition(an example of the first setting condition) that the size of thedocument is a first size (for example, A4 size) and a setting condition(an example of the second setting condition) that the size of thedocument is a second size (for example, B5 size). When the size of theidentified (detected) document D is the first size, the controller 50(determination unit 78) determines the priority order so that a settingcondition that the size of the document is the first size is prioritizedover a setting condition that the size of the document D is the secondsize.

In this case, specifically, the controller 50 may determine the priorityorder so that a setting condition that the size of the identifieddocument D matches is prioritized over a setting condition that the sizeof the identified document D does not match among the registered settingconditions (job icons). Then, the controller 50 may determine thepriority order so that a setting condition corresponding to theauthenticated user is prioritized over a setting condition notcorresponding to the authenticated user among the setting conditionsthat the size of the identified document D matches. The controller 50may determine the priority order so that a setting conditioncorresponding to the authenticated user is prioritized over a settingcondition not corresponding to the authenticated user among the settingconditions that the size of the identified document D does not match.

Further, the controller 50 may determine the priority order so that asetting condition that the size of the identified document D matches isprioritized over a setting condition that the size of the identifieddocument D does not match among the setting conditions corresponding tothe authenticated user. Further, the controller 50 may determine thepriority order so that a setting condition that the size of theidentified document D matches is prioritized over a setting conditionthat the size of the identified document D does not match among thesetting conditions not corresponding to the authenticated user.

In addition, the controller 50 may determine the priority order so thata setting condition that the size of the identified document D matchesis prioritized over setting condition that the size of the identifieddocument D does not match among the setting conditions that correspondto the authenticated user, and in which the priority display flag isset. In addition, the controller 50 may determine the priority order sothat a setting condition that the size of the identified document Dmatches is prioritized over a setting condition that the size of theidentified document D does not match among the setting conditions thatcorrespond to the authenticated user, and in which no priority displayflag is set.

As described in detail above, the following effects can be obtainedaccording to the present embodiment.

(11) The setting conditions related to reading of an image include asetting condition (first setting condition) that the size of thedocument D is the first size (for example, A4 size) and a settingcondition (second setting condition) that the size of the document D isthe second size (for example, B5 size) is included. When the size of theidentified document D is the first size based on the signals from thefirst detection sensor and the second detection sensor, the priorityorder is determined so that a setting condition that the size of thedocument D is the first size is prioritized over a setting conditionthat the size of the document D is the second size. For this reason, itis possible to determine the priority order of the registered settingcondition based on the detected size of the document D, and the jobicons can be displayed in the priority order based on the size ofdocument D, so that it is possible to improve the convenience of theuser to select any of the registered setting conditions.

The above embodiment can also be changed to a form such as themodification shown below. Further, a combination of the above embodimentand the modification examples shown below may be a further modificationexample, or a combination of the modification examples shown below maybe a further modification example.

-   -   For example, when reading an image from a business card as the        document D, a guide member that positions the width direction of        the business card may be configured to be attached to the image        reading apparatus 11 (document support 13). In this case, the        image reading apparatus 11 may include a sensor that detects        whether the guide member is attached, and the controller 50 may        identify, based on the signal from the sensor, that the size of        document D is a size of the business card, and may determine the        priority order so that a setting condition that the size of the        document D is the size of the business card is prioritized over        a setting condition that the size of the document D is not the        size of the business card. That is, the image reading apparatus        11 may include a sensor that detects whether the guide member        that guides the document D is attached. The controller 50        (determination unit 78) may identify the size of the document D        based on the detection result of whether the guide member is        attached, and when the size of the specified (detected) document        D is the first size, may determine the priority order so that a        setting condition that the size of the document is the first        size is prioritized over a setting condition that the size of        the document D is the second size.    -   For example, when the user is authenticated, part or all of the        header area 80B of the main screen 80 may be displayed in the        display color corresponding to the user. Further, for example,        when the user is authenticated, part or all of the footer area        80C of the main screen 80 may be displayed in the display color        corresponding to the user. Further, for example, when the user        is authenticated, images of various screens other than the main        screen 80 may be displayed in the display color corresponding to        the user. Further, for example, the screen may be at least any        of a combination of the third embodiment, the first embodiment,        and the second embodiment, a combination of the third embodiment        and the first embodiment, and a combination of the third        embodiment and the second embodiment. In other words, when the        user is authenticated, at least any of a job icon, a background        image of the job icon, a header image, and a footer image as        information to be displayed on the display unit 22 (an example        of predetermined information) may be displayed in the display        color corresponding to the user. In this way, when visually        recognizing at least any of the job icon, the background image        of the job icon, the header image, and the footer image as        information to be displayed on the display unit 22 the        identified user can be recognized from the display color, so        that it is possible to improve the convenience of the user to        select any of the registered setting conditions.    -   For example, as the display order in the user database UDB, the        setting condition may be searched for based on the input        keyword, and the priority order may be determined based on the        search result. As a specific example, the display order in the        user database UDB can be based on a search for a keyword and can        be associated with the keyword. In this case, when the user is        authenticated, the controller 50 reads the display order        corresponding to the authenticated user. When the read display        order is based on a search for a keyword and the keyword, the        controller 50 refers to the name of the setting condition in the        registration job database JDB to determine the priority order so        that a setting condition that match the keyword is prioritized        over a setting condition that do not match the keyword. Further,        when the read display order of the controller 50 is based on a        search for a keyword and the keyword (for example, A4), the        controller 50 may refer to the job contents of the setting        condition in the registration job database JDB to determine the        priority order so that a setting condition that matches the        keyword may be prioritized over a setting condition that does        not match the keyword. That is, the controller 50 may search for        the setting condition based on a keyword as an example of the        search information acquired according to the input by the user,        and determine the priority order of the setting condition based        on the search result. As a result, the setting condition can be        displayed in the priority order based on the keyword according        to the input by the user, so that it is possible to improve the        convenience of the user to select any of the registered setting        conditions.    -   The number of times the job icon is selected is stored as the        usage history, but the present disclosure is not limited to        this. For example, as a result of selecting the job icon, the        number of documents D whose images have been read may be stored        as the usage history. Further, the priority order may be        determined based on the usage history in a predetermined period        (for example, one month) defined retroactively to the current        time.    -   The setting conditions may be any conditions related to reading        of an image, and may include, for example, a date and time        information condition, a human expression condition, a        destination expression condition, a document type expression        condition, a document source expression condition, and the like.        The date and time information condition is a condition set as an        important date and time, such as a birthday of the user, an        anniversary, an anniversary of the company to which the user        belongs, or a contract date. The human expression condition        includes one person, a plurality of persons, a female, a male, a        boy, a girl, and the like. The destination expression condition        includes a folder, a cloud, a mail, a USB, and the like. The        document type expression condition includes a single document, a        plurality of documents, a business card, an envelope, a        postcard, a card, a receipt, a photograph, a voucher, a driver's        license, a check, and the like. The document source expression        condition includes a school, a hospital, a medicine (a        pharmacy), and a company.    -   For example, the display order may not be associated with the        user, and the normal display order may be applied instead of the        display order corresponding to the user. For example, the        priority display flag may not be associated with the job icon        (setting condition), and in this case, the priority order based        on the priority display flag may not be determined.    -   For example, the main screen 80 displayed in the display area 23        of the display unit 22 may not include at least any of the        header area 80B and the footer area 80C. That is, the        predetermined display area in which the job icon is displayed        may be part or all of the display area 23 of the display unit        22.    -   It is not necessary to perform display switching so that one job        icon is erased and one job icon is displayed, but display        switching may be performed so that all the predetermined number        of job icons are erased and the predetermined number of other        job icons are display. Further, for example, both of these may        be performed according to different operations. Further, various        pieces of input (input operations) may be performed by, for        example, a simple touch operation instead of the swipe        operation.    -   The image may be read by touching the job icon without touching        the image reading button 90A, or the image may be read by        touching the image reading button 90A after the job icon is        touched.    -   One user ID is associated with one registered setting condition,        but the present disclosure is not limited to this, and for        example, a plurality of user IDs may be associated with one        registered setting condition.    -   When the setting condition is registered in association with the        user according to the input by the user, the user who performed        input and the user associated with the setting condition may be        the same or different. That is, the user who performs input and        the user associated with the setting condition may be the same        or different.    -   Even when the user is not authenticated, the user who uses the        image reading apparatus 11 may be identified.    -   The input unit 21 is not limited to the touch panel, but may be,        for example, an operation button.    -   The position where the document presence/absence sensor 46 is        disposed may be a position where the presence/absence of the        document D and the front and rear ends of the document D can be        detected before the document D is discharged.    -   The power sources of the transport unit 31 and the discharge        unit 32 is not limited to be common, but the transport unit 31        and the discharge unit 32 may be driven by respective power        sources. For example, the power source of the transport unit 31        is a transport motor, and the power source of the discharge unit        32 is a discharge motor.    -   The image sensor is not limited to be a CMOS image sensor, but,        for example, may be a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) image        sensor or a charge coupled device (CCD) image sensor.    -   The image sensor 42 is not limited to a linear image sensor, but        may be an area image sensor.    -   Respective functional components in the computer 60 are not        limited to being implemented by the CPU, but, for example, may        be implemented by hardware by an electronic circuit such as an        application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) and a        field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or may be implemented by        both software and hardware.    -   The material of the document is not limited to paper, but may be        a resin film, a sheet, a woven fabric, a metal film, or the        like.    -   The image reading apparatus may be part of a multifunction        machine having a print function and a copying function in        addition to the scanner function.    -   The image reading apparatus is not limited to be of a sheet feed        type, but may be of a flatbed type. When it is a flatbed type        image reading apparatus, the image reading apparatus includes,        in the main body, a carriage that can move along the sub        scanning direction (X direction). The carriage is moved powered        by a scanning motor, and reads the image of the document set on        the glass plate of the document tray with the light source and        reading unit provided on the carriage. The above embodiment can        be applied to even this type of flatbed type image reading        apparatus as long as it is provided with an automatic document        feeder (auto sheet feeder) that automatically feeds documents.        Further, the above embodiment can be applied not only to the        image reading apparatus but also to the image reading control        method and program in the image reading apparatus.

Hereinafter, the technical idea grasped from the above-describedembodiment and modification will be described together with the effects.The image reading apparatus includes a reading unit that reads an imagefrom a document, a controller that controls the reading unit, and adisplay unit that displays information about the image reading by thereading unit, wherein the controller includes a registration unit thatregisters, according to input by a user, a setting condition related tothe image reading by the reading unit in association with the user, anidentification unit that identifies a user, a determination unit thatdetermines a priority order so that a setting condition corresponding tothe user is prioritized over a setting condition not corresponding tothe user among setting conditions registered by the registration unitwhen a user is identified by the identification unit, a displaycontroller that displays, on the display unit, setting conditioninformation indicating the setting conditions in the priority orderdetermined by the determination unit, and a reading controller thatcauses the reading unit to read an image under a setting condition basedon setting condition information selected according to input by a userof the setting condition information indicating the setting conditionsdisplayed on the display unit.

According to this configuration, the setting condition related toreading of an image is registered in association with the user accordingto the input by the user. When the user is identified, the priorityorder is determined so that a setting condition corresponding to theidentified user is prioritized over a setting condition notcorresponding to the user among the registered setting conditions, andthe setting condition information indicating the setting conditions inthe determined priority is displayed. For this reason, the settingconditions corresponding to the user can be displayed with priority, andit is possible to provide a situation where it is easy to select thesetting condition corresponding to the user, so that it is possible toimprove the convenience of the user to select any of the registeredsetting conditions.

In the image reading apparatus, the identification unit may be anauthentication unit that authenticates a user. According to thisconfiguration, the user can be identified by authenticating the user,and the user can be identified accurately.

In the above image reading apparatus, the display unit may display, in apredetermined display area, up to a predetermined number of pieces ofsetting condition information indicating setting conditions related tothe image reading by the reading unit, and wherein when a user isidentified by the identification unit, the display controller maydisplay up to the predetermined number of pieces of setting conditioninformation indicating the setting conditions in descending order of thepriority order determined by the determination unit among the settingconditions registered by the registration unit to switch settingcondition information displayed according to input by the user.

According to this configuration, the display unit displays, in apredetermined display area, up to a predetermined number of pieces ofsetting condition information indicating setting conditions related toreading of an image, up to a predetermined number of pieces of settingcondition information indicating the setting conditions are displayed indescending order of the determined priority order among the registeredsetting conditions when the user is identified, and the settingcondition information to be displayed is switched according to the inputby the user. For this reason, even when there is an upper limit to thenumber of setting condition information to be displayed, the settingcondition information is displayed in descending order of the priorityorder, the setting condition information to be displayed can be switchedaccording to the input by the user, so that it is possible to improvethe convenience of the user to select any of the registered settingconditions.

In the above image reading apparatus, the registration unit may registerthe setting conditions related to the image reading by the reading unitin association with priority, and wherein the determination unit maydetermine a priority order of the setting condition registered by theregistration unit based on the priority registered by the registrationunit.

According to this configuration, the setting conditions related toreading of an image are registered in association with priority, and thepriority order of the registered setting conditions is determined basedon the registered priority. For this reason, it is possible to determinethe priority order of the registered setting conditions based on thepriority registered to correspond to the setting condition, and thesetting conditions can be displayed with the priority according to theinput by the user, so that it is possible to improve the convenience ofthe user to select any of the registered setting conditions.

In the above image reading apparatus, when a user is identified by theidentification unit, the determination unit may determine a priorityorder so that a setting condition that is registered by the registrationunit, and that has a high priority is prioritized over a settingcondition that is registered by the registration unit, and that has alow priority among setting conditions corresponding to the user.

According to this configuration, when the user is identified, thepriority order is determined so that a setting condition having a highregistered priority is prioritized over a setting condition having a lowregistered priority among the setting conditions corresponding to theidentified user. Therefore, it is possible to determine the priorityorder of the setting condition corresponding to the user based on thepriority by registering the setting condition in association with thepriority among the setting conditions corresponding to the identifieduser. Therefore, the setting conditions can be displayed with thepriority according to the input by the user, so that it is possible toimprove the convenience of the user to select any of the registeredsetting conditions.

In the above image reading apparatus, the determination unit may search,based on search information acquired according to input by a user, for asetting condition registered by the registration unit to determine,based on a search result, a priority order of the setting conditionregistered by the registration unit.

According to this configuration, the registered setting condition issearched for based on the search information acquired according to theinput by the user, and the priority order of the registered settingcondition is determined based on the search result. Therefore, theregistered setting condition is searched for based on the searchinformation acquired according to the input by the user, and thepriority order of the registered setting condition can be determinedbased on the search result. Therefore, the setting conditions can bedisplayed in the priority order based on the search informationaccording to the input by the user, so that it is possible to improvethe convenience of the user to select any of the registered settingconditions.

The above image reading apparatus may further include a document sizedetection unit that detects a size of a document, wherein the settingconditions related to the image reading by the reading unit may includea first setting condition that the size of the document is a first sizeand a second setting condition that the size of the document is a secondsize, and wherein when the size of the document detected by the documentsize detection unit is the first size, the determination unit maydetermine a priority order so that the first setting condition isprioritized over the second setting condition.

According to this configuration, the setting conditions related toreading of an image include the first setting condition that the size ofthe document is the first size, and the second setting condition thatthe size of the document is the second size, and when the detecteddocument size is the first size, the priority order is determined sothat the first setting condition is prioritized over the second settingcondition. For this reason, it is possible to determine the priorityorder of the registered setting condition based on the detected size ofthe document D, and the setting condition information can be displayedin the priority order based on the size of the document D, so that it ispossible to improve the convenience of the user to select any of theregistered setting conditions.

In the above image reading apparatus, the controller may store historyinformation in which an image is read by the reading controller for eachsetting condition based on setting condition information selectedaccording to input by a user, and wherein the determination unit maydetermine, based on the history information, a priority order so that asecond specific setting condition that the number of times an image isread is large, compared with a first specific setting condition, isprioritized over the first specific setting condition among settingconditions registered by the registration unit.

According to this configuration, the history information in which theimage is read for each setting condition based on the setting conditioninformation selected according to the input by the user is stored, andthe priority order is determined so that the second specific settingcondition that the number of times the image is read is large, comparedwith the first specific setting condition, is prioritized over the firstspecific setting condition among the registered setting conditions basedon the history information. For this reason, it is possible to determinethe priority order of the registered setting condition based on thehistory information in which the image is read, and the settingcondition information can be displayed in the priority order based onthe history information in which the image is read, so that it ispossible to improve the convenience of the user to select any of theregistered setting conditions.

In the above image reading apparatus, the registration unit may registera display color in association with a user, and wherein when a user isidentified by the identification unit, the display controller maydisplay predetermined information on the display unit in a display colorcorresponding to the user.

According to this configuration, the display color is registered inassociation with the user, and when the user is identified, thepredetermined information is displayed in the display colorcorresponding to the identified user. Therefore, the identified user canbe recognized from the display color in which the predeterminedinformation is displayed, so that it is possible to improve theconvenience of the user to select any of the registered settingconditions.

In the above image reading apparatus, the predetermined information maybe, as information to be displayed on the display unit, at least any ofthe setting condition information indicating the setting conditionsregistered by the registration unit, the background image of the settingcondition information, the header image, and the footer image.

According to this configuration, when visually recognizing at least anyof the setting condition information, the background image of thesetting condition information, the header image, and the footer image asinformation to be displayed on the display unit, the identified user canbe recognized from the display color, so that it is possible to improvethe convenience of the user to select any of the registered settingconditions.

The image reading control method includes a registration step ofregistering, according to input by a user, a setting condition relatedto reading of an image from a document in association with the user, anidentification step of identifying a user, a determination step ofdetermining a priority order so that when a user is identified in theidentification step, a setting condition corresponding to the user isprioritized over a setting condition not corresponding to the user amongsetting conditions registered in the registration step, a displaycontrol step of displaying, on the display unit, setting conditioninformation indicating the setting conditions in the priority orderdetermined in the determination step, and a reading control step ofcausing the reading unit to read an image under a setting conditionbased on setting condition information selected according to input by auser of the setting condition information indicating the settingconditions displayed in the display control step. According to thismethod, the effects same as that of the image reading apparatus can beobtained.

The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a programcauses a computer to execute a method. The method includes aregistration step of registering, according to input by a user, asetting condition related to reading of an image from a document inassociation with the use, an identification step of identifying a user,a determination step of determining a priority order so that when a useris identified in the identification step, a setting conditionscorresponding to the user is prioritized over a setting condition notcorresponding to the user among setting conditions registered in theregistration step, a display control step of displaying, on the displayunit, setting condition information indicating the setting conditions inthe priority order determined in the determination step, and a readingcontrol step of causing the reading unit to read an image under asetting condition based on setting condition information selectedaccording to input by a user of the setting condition informationindicating the setting conditions displayed in the display control step.According to this program, the effects same as that of the image readingapparatus can be obtained.

What is claimed is:
 1. An image reading apparatus comprising: a readingunit that reads an image from a document; a display unit that displaysinformation about the image reading by the reading unit; a controllerthat controls the reading unit, wherein the controller includes: aregistration unit that registers a setting condition related to theimage reading by the reading unit in association with a user andregisters a display color in association with the user, anidentification unit that identifies a user, a determination unit thatdetermines the setting condition corresponding to the user as settingcondition information, not the setting condition not corresponding tothe user among setting conditions registered by the registration unitwhen a user is identified by the identification unit, wherein thecontroller displays, on the display unit, setting condition informationindicating the setting conditions determined by the determination unit,when a user is identified by the identification unit, the settingcondition information is displayed in the display color corresponding tothe user, and causes the reading unit to read an image under a settingcondition based on setting condition information selected according toinput by a user of the setting condition information indicating thesetting conditions displayed on the display unit.
 2. The image readingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the identification unit is anauthentication unit that authenticates a user.
 3. The image readingapparatus according to claim 2, wherein the registration unit registersthe setting condition related to the image reading by the reading unitin association with priority, and wherein the determination unitdetermines a priority order of the setting condition registered by theregistration unit based on the priority registered by the registrationunit.
 4. The image reading apparatus according to claim 3, wherein whena user is identified by the identification unit, the determination unitdetermines a priority order so that a setting condition that isregistered by the registration unit, and that has a high priority isprioritized over a setting condition that is registered by theregistration unit, and that has a low priority among setting conditionscorresponding to the user.
 5. The image reading apparatus according toclaim 2, wherein the determination unit searches, based on searchinformation acquired according to input by a user, for a settingcondition registered by the registration unit to determine, based on asearch result, a priority order of the setting condition registered bythe registration unit.
 6. The image reading apparatus according to claim1, wherein the determination unit that determines a priority order sothat a setting condition corresponding to the user is prioritized over asetting condition not corresponding to the user among setting conditionsregistered by the registration unit when a user is identified by theidentification unit, and wherein when a user is identified by theidentification unit, the controller displays up to a predeterminednumber of pieces of setting condition information indicating settingconditions in descending order of the priority order determined by thedetermination unit among the setting conditions registered by theregistration unit to switch setting condition information displayedaccording to input by a user.
 7. The image reading apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the controller stores history information in whichan image is read for each setting condition based on setting conditioninformation selected according to input by a user, and wherein thedetermination unit determines, based on the history information, apriority order so that a second specific setting condition that thenumber of times an image is read is large, compared with a firstspecific setting condition, is prioritized over the first specificsetting condition among setting conditions registered by theregistration unit.
 8. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1,wherein predetermined information is, as information to be displayed onthe display unit, at least any of, a background image of the settingcondition information, a header image, and a footer image.
 9. An imagereading control method comprising: a registration step of registering, asetting condition related to reading of an image from a document inassociation with a user and registers a display color in associationwith the user; an identification step of identifying a user; adetermination step of determining a setting condition corresponding tothe user as setting condition information, not a setting condition notcorresponding to the user among setting conditions registered in theregistration step when a user is identified in the identification step;a display control step of displaying setting condition informationindicating the setting conditions determined in the determination step;and a reading control step of reading an image under a setting conditionbased on setting condition information selected according to input by auser of the setting condition information indicating the settingconditions displayed in the display control step, wherein when a user isidentified by the identification step, the display control step displaysthe setting condition information in a display color corresponding tothe user.
 10. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storinga program causing a computer to execute a method, the method comprising:a registration step of registering a setting condition related toreading of an image from a document in association with a user andregisters a display color in association with the user; anidentification step of identifying a user; a determination step ofdetermining, a setting condition corresponding to the user as settingcondition information, not a setting condition not corresponding to theuser among setting conditions registered in the registration step when auser is identified in the identification step; a display control step ofdisplaying setting condition information indicating the settingconditions determined in the determination step; and a reading controlstep of reading an image under a setting condition based on settingcondition information selected according to input by a user of thesetting condition information indicating the setting conditionsdisplayed in the display control step, wherein when a user is identifiedby the identification step, the display control step displays thesetting condition information in a display color corresponding to theuser.